Obama offers a glimpse of his priorities

RUNNING HARD:US President Barack Obama says Republicans are alienating Hispanics, and predicted a deficit-reduction deal with Republican lawmakers if he is re-elected

Reuters, DAVENPORT, Iowa

US President Barack Obama waves to supporters during a campaign rally in Denver, Colorado, on Wednesday.

Photo: Reuters

US President Barack Obama predicted passage of immigration reform and a deficit-reduction deal, offering a fresh glimpse of his second-term agenda as he fights for votes in the final stretch of the tight race before the Nov. 6 election.

In a newspaper interview released on Wednesday ahead of an eight-state campaign blitz that began in Iowa, Obama also suggested Republicans were bolstering his re-election effort by alienating Hispanics.

He told the Des Moines Register he was confident that comprehensive immigration reform would be approved next year and predicted he would strike a deal with Republicans in the US Congress within six months to reduce the budget deficit.

He made the comments in an interview with the newspaper’s editors that was originally conducted off the record. After the newspaper complained about the restriction, the White House released a transcript.

“Since this is off the record, I will just be very blunt. Should I win a second term, a big reason I will win a second term is because the Republican nominee and the Republican Party have so alienated the fastest-growing demographic group in the country, the Latino community,” Obama said in the interview.

Republican challenger Mitt Romney has joined many in his party in taking a tough approach to illegal immigration, a stance that has helped Obama open a substantial lead in polls among Hispanics.

The growing electoral clout of Hispanics, who now comprise 16 percent of the US population, could make a difference in election battleground states like Nevada, Colorado, Florida, Virginia and Ohio.

Two weeks before the election, Obama and Romney are locked in a close battle for the White House and are competing furiously for key voting blocs like Hispanics and women.

The effort to win women voters also came to the forefront on Wednesday with a controversy over comments about rape by Indiana Republican Senate candidate Richard Mourdock.

Obama’s campaign moved quickly to link Romney with Mourdock, who said in a debate with Democrat Joe Donnelly on Tuesday that pregnancy caused by rape is “something God intended to happen.”

Obama believed the comment was “outrageous and demeaning to women,” said campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki, adding that she was perplexed Romney would not demand an ad he filmed in support of Mourdock be taken off the air.

“This is a reminder that a Republican Congress working with a Republican president, Mitt Romney, would feel that women should not be able to make choices about their own healthcare,” Psaki told reporters on the flight to Iowa.

Romney’s campaign tried to distance him from Mourdock’s remark, saying it did not reflect his views, but it has not demanded that the ad be pulled. Obama has criticized Romney for his opposition to abortion rights except in cases of rape, incest or the health of the mother.

With the race so close, both candidates were stepping up their campaign schedules. Obama plans to visit eight states in a two-day marathon. Romney was to hit Nevada and Iowa on Wednesday before spending a full day in Ohio yesterday.

Obama’s trip is designed to build momentum from two strong debate performances that put his campaign back on a solid footing after Romney bested him in their first debate.